For Unto You
by idlewild202
Summary: When Dr. Lizzy Dunham collapses unconscious in an off world lab it triggers a turn of events that leads to the discovery of a new ancient people. Do they dare learn more of this powerful race?
1. Chapter 1

A warm sun shimmers down through the tree tops, and the breeze touches the grass as it waves under a flawless blue sky. Birds chirp and through it all the still of the alpine meadow radiates a calming presence. The valley is maybe a mile in length and perhaps ½ mile in width and rimmed by towering peaks soaring into the sky almost beyond sight. At the far end of the valley there is a sharp drop off and the meandering river plummets with surprising swiftness towards the plateau below. As one stands on the ledge of the valley it is a dizzying sensation, almost as if you are flying far above the ground. For it is not just any old drop down to the flat land below, but a staggering decent of over a mile of sheer rock face that is nearly straight down. How anyone or anything could ascend that would be a feat of near impossibility.

Far below the earth stretches away into the far distance, one can see for hundreds of miles. Far in the distance you can make out the wandering shoreline and the river like a silver snake as it traverses far valleys before coming to a end in the shimmering ocean. Dotted like sheep in a pasture are puffy clouds, not above your head, but below your feet stretching across the plain, casting shadows below them. In your face is a brisk, cool breeze, one can almost hear the ocean on the wind as it soars up the cliff from the lands far away.

And yet, the meadow is not the highest point on the planet, turning the other direction you are faced with mountains beyond description, hard, high peaks that tower up towards the deep blue sky. Snow covered and wind blown. Wisps of stray clouds wrap around the ghastly grey fingers that seem to touch the heavens themselves. Jagged and menacing they look, pinnacles of rock that make Mount Everest herself look like a hill.

But the valley that lies beneath these silent guardians is a beauty to behold. Deep green and waist high in thick flowing grass that seems to dance with the wind and the sun. Towering trees reach their branches high, seemingly in imitation of their high, granite neighbors. Brightly colored birds flirt about in the brush, chasing each other in pursuit of the sweetest blueberry.

It all seems untouched, as if no intelligent being had ever set foot in this magical place. But first appearances can be deceiving, for, in the middle of the meadow stands a not so subtle message that this world has indeed housed more than just nature herself.

A large metal ring, a stargate no less, seems very out of place in a land such as this, but here it stands. Cobwebs and a bird's nest now call it home, and the DHD is nearly hidden in the tall grass. No one has visited in some time, and no visitors are expected.

- - - - -

"Send the M.A.L.P. through."

"Yes ma'am." Chuck acknowledged Dr. Elizabeth Weir and the remote device lurched to life and rumbled through the gate. Several seconds later the transmitted image appeared on the screen; grass.

"Tilt it up." Dr. Weir looked at the screen curiously as it panned up and side to side, showing swishing grass, the gate behind, and a broad blue sky. She rubbed her chin. "Hmmm... try moving it forward." The image bobbled as the malp moved forward, then suddenly lurched and stopped, it had hit something. The something was the DHD, the edge of which could be now seen in front of the machine. "Well, I guess nobody is home." She smiled, turned to the awaiting team, "You have a go, but be on your guard, that grass could hide anybody and anything."

"Yes ma'am!" Major Tim Hughes saluted and grinned then turned to his team, "Rock n' roll folks!"

The other three members, Lt Evan McLaughlin, Dr. Freddie Davenport, and Dr. Elizabeth Dunham made up SGA-8 along with their wise cracking, smart ass Major. Their primary job was to scout new planets and look for traces of civilization, culture, and geological finds that could be beneficial to the Atlantis expedition. If they found something they documented it then reported back and another team would then take over for the detailed work. They considering themselves the "underdog" of Atlantis. Dr. Davenport liked to say that "We do the hard part, we find what they're lookin' for, then all they have to do is come in and sweep it up!"

It wasn't the most glamorous job, but they would gladly take it over staying in the city all the time. Some people liked the safe confines of Atlantis, but for SGA-8, the excitement came from stepping through the gate onto new worlds. Sure, most of the places they went to weren't that special, barren wastelands seemed to be their best bet. Sometimes they stumbled across a new culture to trade with, or ancient ruins that often turned out to be nothing more than a bathhouse relatively speaking.

At the moment it seemed they where gearing up to go explore yet another unoccupied planet. Though, the grass and blue sky was certainly a step up from the last place... blowing sand storms in a vast, cold, desert would not be on anyone's top vacation getaway list.

Stepping through the gate the first sight that met their eyes were towering mountain vistas. Major Hughes, notorious for saying "A new world, a new day, lets go find something interesting" every time he stepped through the gate could only muster the word "Wow." His team nodded their agreement. Nowhere had they ever seen such a grand and aw inspiring sight. They seemed frozen, their eyes drinking in the scenery.

Suddenly the radio sputtered, "Major Hughes, do you copy?"

Hughes jumped, then grabbed for his radio, "Yeah, yeah, I copy. Sorry, just, the view here is a little... intimidating, I've never seen such mountains in my life. I'll bring back a picture for you." Then he remembered his training, "Check in at 1200 hours. Over and out."

The stargate shut off behind them and left the team standing there, motionless. Dr. Dunham, or "Lizzy" as she preferred to be called, slowly spun around. She stopped dead facing the other direction. Her voice was barely a whisper, "Major..."

Nobody answered, she heard the surprisingly loud click of a camera as Dr. Davenport quickly snapped away.

She turned slightly, this time her voice louder, "Major, guys, look." She pointed. The three others turned and stopped dead, their mouths open. Before them miles upon miles upon miles of horizon stretched away, and not 50 yards from where they stood a ledge. Advancing to the edge Lizzy looked down, she gasped and backed up a few steps, "That's gotta be over a mile down."

Lt. McLaughlin came to stand wide eyed beside her, "It's like the grand canyon, expect bigger."

The rapid click of the camera came from her other side, "Amazing, amazing," was all Dr. Davenport could mutter as he quickly filled the memory on his camera.

Lizzy laughed, "Saving any room for the rest of this place Freddie?"

He grinned back, "Are you kidding, I have ten more of these things." He waved the memory card.

"Well campers," Hughes walked up behind the three, "As much fun as this scenic viewpoint is we still got a world, err..." he glanced over his shoulder, "valley anyway, to explore. Lets get moving." He gestured to the rim, "Because I dunno know about you, but I ain't about to find a way down. If Weir and the rest wanna check it out they can bring a Jumper."

Dr. Davenport nudged Lizzy, "Or she could."

"Yeah," Lizzy laughed, "and kill everyone on board? We've been over this before, I think not."

He raised his hands in defeat as the team began picking their way through the tall grass. The best going turned out to be along the edge of the river. The valley seemed pretty much the same, grass, grass, more grass, and trees. It was pretty enough alright. They took their time, wandering here and there, stopping to take a long look at whatever caught their attention. Mostly just not wanting to turn back.

Ahead the river took a slight bend and went up a short rocky outcropping, sort of a step if you will. Here the team took a break, though, not that they really needed one. They just sat and looked around, basking in the natural glory of the place, craning their necks as they strained to see the tops of the sheer, steep mountains.

Lt. McLaughlin rested against a boulder, idly running his fingers across the dirt beside him. There was a large flat rock in the ground where his fingers lay. Looking at it began to think that it was somewhat odd that a large smooth rock like that should be here of all places. He frowned, then brushed it clean. His eyes traveled along the rock and up the bank and on up the valley.

"Guys..." He continued brushing dirt away, "look at this."

Dr. Davenport was instantly beside him, eagerly digging in his backpack for a brush. His hand practically flew as he whisked the dirt away. He looked up in the direction that Lt. McLaughlin was gazing then sitting back on his heels he let out a whistle. "Well, well, lookie at what we have here."

Lizzy and Hughes were behind him, "What?" They said in unison.

He gestured, "Don't you see, it's a path. Overgrown perhaps, but it's still very discernable and, amazingly, in excellent repair for obviously not having been used in ages.

Dr. Freddie Davenport was an archeology major, to him something like this was pure candy. But to Lizzy, a technician and scientist, and Hughes, a military scientist, it meant about as much as a twig on a tree. None the less, they showed enthusiasm for him and quickly packed up least he leave them behind as he practical galloped up the stone pathway.

"Hey!" Hughes yelled to his back, "Wait up for the rest of us there Speedy!" Davenport stopped and waited, obviously impatient. When they finally caught up with him it was as if someone had hit the turbo button.

"Do you know what this could mean? There could be a whole civilization over there, across those mountains, or a ruins, or a great important find of the century. We could be hailed as heros, finding something new and powerful to fight against the wraith and replicators. Or it could be a people we could help. They could be decedents of the ancients even! Or they could be a race we've never met before, or, or, or." The list seemed to go on and on.

Finally Lt. McLaughlin held up his hand, "Enough!" he about shouted. Davenport stopped, mouth half open, looking a bit surprised. McLaughlin gave him the eye, "My ears are about ready to fall off. Okay?" Davenport started to protest but McLaughlin simply repeated, "enough" and continued walking. Davenport glared at his back a second the continued up the path.

Lizzy shot a raised eyebrow to Hughes. Normally Lt. McLaughlin was the quiet, reserved, stand in the back and ignore everyone sort of person. When he spoke it was quiet and soft. Even when he gave orders it was in a relaxed manner. Somehow he made you want to obey, instead of forcing you to. This outburst was most unusual.

Hughes only shrugged and grinned, "He was getting to me too."

The path wound up into a grove of large pine-like trees. From a distance they looked like regular evergreens, but upon closer examination one could see that at the tips of the branches a small yellow flower blossomed amongst the needles. It gave off a sweet, honey like smell that was laced with a deliciously tangy fragrance. It was dreamlike as the team walked through the grove, almost forgetting about why they had come this way.

But then, suddenly, almost out of nowhere, a doorway loomed–catching the team a bit by surprise. At first glance it just looked like a cave. But when one neared it you could clearly see a large metal door barricading the entrance. Just inside the doorway was a motion hand panel very akin to those of Atlantis.

Dr. Davenport nudged Lizzy, "You try it." He whispered, referring to the ancient gene she carried.

She stepped up and waved her hand over the panel, nothing. She tried again, still didn't work. She sighed and touched it, thinking it was no longer operational. To her surprise at her touch it lit up and the door suddenly lifted up. The Lt. and Major instantly brought up their P-90 and switched on their lights. Both Doctors grabbed for their flashlights.

The corridor upon first glace was long and empty, and very dark. Lizzy looked over her shoulder, Hughes nodded and stepped in front, Lizzy and Davenport following close behind with Lt. McLaughlin bring up their six. As they stepped foot into the hallway lights lining the bottom of the wall began turning on. As they stepped inside the door slid quietly shut behind them. Advancing they went on for about 30 yards before coming to another similar door.

Lizzy waved her hand in front of the panel, this time, it responded and opened right up. Inside was a large chamber. As in the hallway lights began switching on as soon as they stepped inside. Numerous panels and displays lept to life and became scrolling information.

"Well I'll be, I think we've found something." Hughes gazed wide eyed around the room. Lizzy and Davenport just grinned at each other and whipped out their tablets. In a matter of seconds they where flitting around like bees looking at this and that.

"Nobody touch anything!" Davenport commanded after a minute of looking, "This is in an ancient dialect I can't make out, it's not Lantean ancient at least, same structure, but I don't understand a single word. So I, we, have no idea what any of this is."

Lizzy nodded, "I agree, from the looks of the technology it's Ancient, I can interface the computer, but beyond that I don't dare touch any of it." She busily started hitting buttons on her tablet, recording the text on the display in front of her into the memory of her computer.

Hughes and McLaughlin simply wandered around the lab, while Hughes was technically a scientist, he didn't refer to himself as one. In his words he was a "bomb squad blunder." It was often said with a wink.

Like Davenport and Lizzy had said, everything in the room appeared to be Ancient, the style, the build, the text. But it was different somehow. One couldn't quite put a finger on it, it was like it had been modernized, if such a thing was possible with such advanced technology. The architectural design of the place was sleeker, more refined than Atlantis. There were smoother lines and over all it had a feeling of being less busy. It was peaceful to be around, just like the planet.

Dr. Davenport was muttering something about finding the power supply as Lizzy followed a long line of panels, smiling to herself at his rambling. Displays in front of her scrolled line after line of text. At the end of the panels was a slightly raised platform with an individual panel. She stepped up on the panel to have a closer look.

Suddenly the platform below her lit up, before she could step off a bright light seemed to engulf her. Frozen in place she couldn't move, couldn't call out. It felt like she was floating. A tingling sensation surrounded her body, and she felt as thought she had just been placed in an oven. Her head spun and her mind began to panic. What was happening! She wanted to scream. Now the tingling was turning to sharp pokes all over her body. She tried to move, to get away, but she couldn't, her limbs didn't answer. She could hardly see but for the bright light. Suddenly she felt very faint and lightheaded. The world around her took giant lopsided spins as if on a broken merry go round. All she wanted to do was escape, and suddenly she did as all went dark, a bright light far away gradually fading into nothing.


	2. Chapter 2

The sound of a body hitting the ground caused Major Hughes to stop dead and spin around. He called out to his team, "What happened?"

Davenport and Lt. McLaughlin came running, confusion on their faces. Hughes did a quick once over to make sure they where okay then asked, "Where's Dr. Dunham?"

McLaughlin shrugged and Davenport pointed to a far row of panels, "I last saw her over there."

Hughes nodded and ran over to the area being gestured at; nothing. "Hey Lizzy! Where are you?" He walked along the panels, looking over and under in a thorough search. The rest of the team began to scour the rest of the room.

As Hughes neared the end of the panels he stopped short, then darted forward yelling over his shoulder, "Over here! Quick!"

Before him on a dark, raised platform was Lizzy, sprawled unconscious. Davenport and McLaughlin ran up behind him as he checked her vitals, "Got a pulse, and she's breathing. Looks like she passed out." He rolled her over and after a thorough check for injury of any kind he picked her up, "Cutting this one short guys, we're heading back."

Hughes was mildly surprised that the trek back to the gate took only ten minutes. Especially considering it took them well over an hour to make it to the lab in the first place.

Davenport dialed up Atlantis and sent through his GDO code. Hughes flicked on his radio, "Major Hughes here, we're coming home early. Dr. Dunham passed out while we were exploring an ancient lab. She is still unconscious but her vitals are stable. Requesting a medical team to stand by."

A voice spoke over the radio, "Copy that Major. You're clear to come through."

Hughes stepped up and into the wormhole with Lizzy in his arms. On the other side he was instantly swarmed by a medical team.

Dr. Carson Beckett immediately took charge, guiding Hughes to a gurney. "Ye done good lad, just set 'er here." He patted the bed. Once he had her situated how he liked he was gone. Before you could blink the entire medical team was down the hall way and off to the infirmary.

Dr. Weir approached Hughes, who was now standing in awe at the efficiency at which Beckett operated. She glanced towards the infirmary, then back to the Major. "She'll be fine, Lizzy is in the best care now." He nodded and Weir continued, "So, what happened out there? An ancient _lab_ you said?"

He took a breath, drawing his thoughts away from his team member. "Yes. Ma'am, that place is gorgeous. We had wandered up the valley and found the river, and that led to... well, long story short we found some sort of ancient outpost or lab, but it wasn't ancient, was something else, different. Dr. Davenport could probably tell you all about it."

At the mention of his name Davenport perked up, "Yes, yes, it was most fascinating! Like an advanced version of Atlantis, if you can think of that, I was mo..."

He was cut off by Hughes, "Anyway... We didn't touch anything, just looked it over and they took some notes. Dr. Dunham was looking at this far row of panels, I heard her fall, found her, and here we are back home. I don't know what happened to her, maybe she just got to excited. I just don't know ma'am."

Dr. Weir nodded, "That's okay. We'll debrief as soon as I get word from Dr. Beckett as to Dr. Dunham's condition."

Hughes nodded and walked off to his quarters.

- - - - -

At the knock on her door Dr. Weir looked up. She smiled and invited Dr. Beckett in with a wave of the hand, "How's Dr. Dunham?"

He set a folder down on the table. "Well, as far as I can tell, she's perfectly fine. She simply fainted. She regained consciousness shortly after we left the gate room." He looked at Weir with a slightly concerned looked on his face, "You should 'ear her story though."

Weir cocked her head and frowned, "Which is?"

Beckett nodded towards the door. "I'll let her tell you herself."

In the infirmary Lizzy was laying on a bed resting. When she saw Weir and Beckett approached she sat up and smiled. "Hey," she said, somewhat embarrassed about her situation.

Weir smiled and patted her leg, "Glad to see you alert and awake." She cast a slight glance to Beckett, "Carson says you have a story about what happened."

Lizzy frowned and looked at her hands, "Yeah..." She looked up, "We found this ancient lab of some sort. Everything was turning on as we came in. Dr. Davenport and I were taking notes on the displays to bring back here to Atlantis. I was checking out some panels, at the end was like a platform, no more than a step high, I didn't think anything of it and stepped up to have a closer look at the display screen." She looked wide eyes at both her visitors, "I swear to you, I didn't touch anything!

"But as soon as I stepped onto the platform it lit up and I couldn't move. It was like a tractor beam or something. I felt, well, like I was next to a hot fire that kept sending sparks onto me. I don't know what it was, but all of a sudden I just went blank." She looked at Beckett, "I guess I fainted and then the next thing I know I am waking up back here in Atlantis."

Weir looked from Lizzy to Beckett then back again to Lizzy. "You're sure you didn't touch anything?"

"Positive."

"Alright, I believe you." She turned to Beckett, "Get some blood work done, I want to be sure."

The doctor nodded, "Already on it, I'll let you know as soon as I get the results back."

"Good," she turned to Lizzy, "Get some rest, we'll figure this out." She said, smiling at Lizzy who nodded before walking out.

- - - - -

An hour later Major Hughes, Lt. McLaughlin, and Dr. Davenport joined Dr. Weir in her office. For the next hour they went over the details of the expedition, the who what and when of everything they had done and observed. Dr. Davenport ended up doing most of the talking, almost tripping over himself in his eagerness to share what they had found. Weir as well informed them of Lizzy's condition and related to them what she had said about the platform.

Weir nodded to Davenport. "So, your conclusion is that it's ancient technology, but at the same time it isn't?"

"Yes, it contains all the features of what we have here at Atlantis, and at first glace it looks exactly the same. But the language, the sentence structure is entirely different." At this he pointed to the photographs already on the table, "I couldn't understand a word. I think it's some sort of top secret experimentation lab, which would explain it's location."

"Yet you have no problem getting in, obviously whoever made it wasn't anticipating visitors."

"Exactly, it was engineered to detect the ancient gene, since obviously Lizzy was able to get in without a problem once we activated the front door. So anyone not having the gene wouldn't have been able to get in. A great security measure in my opinion if you factor in the remoteness of the planet.

"It's almost as if this race is a cousin of the Ancients we know. Both would be descended from the same ancestors, but the too groups took different paths, like races on our own world."

Weir nodded, "I see what you're saying." She sat back in her chair, "However, as important as this find my be I don't want what happened to Dr. Dunham to happen again. Especially since we don't know what this lab was for. I don't want anyone going back for the time being. Not until we know more." She motioned to the tablet, "We've got your notes. I want you to work with Dr. McKay and Dr. Dunham when she is back to work. Focus on the text and see if you can't come up with something. It would be very helpful if we can learn how to read it." She leaned forward. "If this really is a new ancient race then I want to know who they are, and I want to know what they where doing. Everything and anything about them. But, for now, lets proceed with caution. Understood?"

A chorus of "Yes ma'am" filled the room.

She nodded, "Dismissed."

As they left Dr. Beckett appeared at the door, "Dr. Weir?"

She looked up, "The test results?"

Beckett nodded, "Yes, and they are all clear, everything is normal. No abnormalities or foreign substances. I cleared her to leave, and she can go back to work in a few days." Weir nodded and he continued. "I also want to run some follow up tests in a month, just to make sure."

"Good idea. Thank you Carson."

He nodded and smiled then left the office leaving Weir sitting behind her desk staring blankly at the pictures that Dr. Davenport had left behind on her desk. What this find meant for the expedition she did not know, or of what importance it might mean.


	3. Chapter 3

It had been three weeks since their mission to M4R-459. It had been spent working busily on the information they had logged into their tablets while off world. The language was proving to be difficult. It was very similar to the Ancient language they already knew, but it was enough of a different dialect that it was proving difficult to understand. It was akin to the differences and similarities of the earth languages Spanish and Portuguese, both came from the same source, but the differences that happen over the years are just enough to cause confusion.

Lizzy had just made it back to her room. It had been another very long and unproductive day. Undressing she stepped under the hot shower, letting the running water soothe away the frustrations of the day. She was missing her off world excursions, but Wier had asked her personally to assist, that and she was not yet cleared for off world duty, not until Dr. Beckett told her so. Physically she felt fine, but he wanted her to play it safe. Pulling on her nightshirt she walked over to and collapsed into her bed, utterly exhausted. She was asleep in a matter of minutes.

Suddenly she was watching SGA-1 coming back home through the gate, all four were wearing woven flower crowns. They were laughing merrily and Lt. Col. John Sheppard was saying something about Hawaii to Dr. McKay. The dream was so vivid, so real. Like she was actually there. She jerked herself awake with a start and a wildly beating heart. That was a dream unlike anything she had ever experienced before. Odd. She shrugged, shaking off the sudden feeling of unrest, it was nothing more than a random dream. She reached for the glass on her nightstand and took a drink of water. Rolling over she soon went back to sleep.

The next day in the cafeteria she was walking to a table with her tray, lost in thought, when she heard voices behind her. It was Lt. Col. John Sheppard and Dr. Rodney McKay. She stopped dead in her tracks, hands mid poised in the act of setting the tray down. Sheppard was saying, "Was that place like Hawaii or what?"

She spun, looking in their direction as Rodney answered, "Well, it's a tropical paradise. Sure, why not, it's Hawaii if you want it to be."

Both were wearing flower crowns on their head, exactly like the ones she had seen in her dream the night before. Slowly she turned back around, set her tray down carefully, sat, and rubbed her eyes. Then pinched herself. Nope, not another dream. She shook her head. This was too strange, what a crazy coincidence. It left her feeling a bit spooked however, and for the rest of the day she was unable to shake the feeling.

That night in her room as she sat on the edge of her bed she almost felt uncertain about the idea of falling asleep. It struck her has one of the most absurd ideas she had ever imagined. This was silly, childish even. She stretched out on the bed, flat on her back, closing her eyes she soon drifted off to sleep.

She awoke with a start several hours later, breathing hard, her heart felt like it was going to leap from her chest. It had been another dream. She had been walking along a hallway, a few of the base personnel had been moving up and down the corridor. Then two people, walking briskly down the hall in opposite directions and not looking where they were going, collided into each other, sending papers and folders flying. It was a far cry from a nightmare... but the intensity and realism of the dream again startled and in a strange way, scarred her. It was like she had never even been asleep.

Calming her frantically racing heart she glanced at the clock, sighed, then swung her legs over the edge of the bed and rubbed her temples. Only an hour until she had to get up, might as well get a head start on work today.

The halls were quiet as she headed to her lab, most everyone else wouldn't be up for another hour. She booted up the computers and went to work. Two hours later, frustrated at her lack of progress, she shut off her tablet and left the lab. All she could think about was her dream, that stupid dream. She had just read the same thing five times over and it had made no sense. Food was sounding good right about now.

Walking along towards the cafeteria she wasn't paying much attention to the people around her. A tech came marching past her, lost in the files he had in his hand. Her eyes followed his path on their own accord, strangely fascinated with the action of his stride. The sequence of footfalls was almost hypnotic.

Suddenly, out of the blue papers and folders where flying in all directions. Lizzy stopped mid stride and stared, open mouthed, at the scene in front of her. The tech, not looking where he had been going had marched right into someone going the other way. Now both where uttering apologies and scrambling to pick up the scattered paperwork off the floor.

Stunned, Lizzy stumbled backwards, almost falling against the cold wall. She grasped the edge of an outcropping, something to support her suddenly weak knees. Her heart was thumping in her chest, her mouth had gone dry, her eyes wide and her body seemingly frozen in place as she watched her dream unfold before her.

Twice in a row now, what was happening to her? Panic suddenly welled in her heart and it gave wings to her feet as she bolted from the hallway, the cafeteria long forgotten.

Her mind raced along with her feet, churning questions one after another._Why? Why me? What is this, why can I see the future? Why am I having these dreams? Why me? Why? Why!_

Blindly she raced on, then, turning a corner, she ran headlong into a pair of strong arms and a sturdy chest. Already panicked, the thought of being captured flashed through her mind and instinctively she started struggling to free herself. But the arms resisted, and grabbing her shoulders they held her in a firm, but gentle grasp. A soft voice quickly brought her back to the real world.

"Easy lass, easy." Was all Dr. Beckett said, quietly repeating himself as he steered the frightened woman to the infirmary. Upon their arrival he set a very quiet, and now ashamed, Lizzy, on a bed. She kept her gaze down, just looking at her hands, not sure what to make of her behavior.

Beckett handed her a glass of water, which she gladly accepted and drank deeply from. Soon an empty glass was placed on the table nearby.

"Now, Lizzy, what were ye running from?" He looked at her with a gentle, but firm look.

She sighed, "I... I was scared. I..." She fell silent.

"And?" The doctor prodded.

She lifted her head and looked him in the eye, "I've been having these visions... well, dreams really. In my sleep, and the next day, they come true, I don't know what's happening, or why it's scarring me so badly, but it is, and I'm frightened."

"How many of these dreams have ye had now?"

"Only two, one last night, and one the night before."

"Would ye like to tell me about them?"

She paused, then nodded, "Yes."

- - - - -

Dr. Weir was filing reports when Dr. Beckett knocked on her door. Glancing up she smiled and waved him in. "Carson, just give me a minute to finish this," she gestured to the open folder in front of her, "and then I'll be right with you."

He nodded and took a chair, a few minutes later Dr. Weir closed the file, "There, that's done. Now, what can I do for you."

"It's Dr. Dunham."

Weir frowned, "Again? Is something wrong? I thought everything was fine with her last you checked."

"It was, but just over an hour ago she ran into me in the hallway, terrified. She's been having some visions in her dreams, and they have been coming true the next day." He briefly explained the events of the two dreams and how they had come to pass. "I gave her some sleeping pills and orders not to report to work until these dreams stop."

Nodding, Weir said "Okay. Do you have any idea what is causing this? Could it be stress? I'm sure that she is very unsettled from that happened, I know I would be."

"Aye, that she is. As for a cause, I haven't a clue yet. I've run some tests and should have the results shortly. I don't want to jump to preliminary conclusions, but I think her experience off world may be apart of this."

"Lets hope not, we have enough adventures going on around here at the moment. But, thank you Carson, and notify me as soon as you know what the results are."

"Of course." He smiled, then got up and briskly left the room.

- - - - -

Back in his lab Dr. Beckett sipped on a cup of coffee as he scanned Lizzy's test results. Nothing out of the ordinary so far. Then he frowned, wait a second, that wasn't suppose to be there. He clicked to the secondary tests, he had ordered two sets just in case. Same results. He stared at the screen... well, this was different. He rubbed his temples, _Well,_ he figured, _either that explains everything, or it explains nothing_.


	4. Chapter 4

Lizzy had just seated herself upon a bed when Dr. Weir entered the room followed shortly thereafter by Dr. Beckett.

"Oh good, ye're both here." He reached for a folder on the desk as he walked over to the two women. "I got ye test results back," he nodded towards Lizzy, "and there is a little something in here I wanted both of ye to know." He looked first to Lizzy and then to Weir.

Weir crossed her arms and glanced at Lizzy who shrugged back, "Very well Carson, what is it?"

"Well, there is really no way to sugar coat it." He looked directly at Lizzy, "you're pregnant."

It was the last thing in all of the galaxy that Lizzy was expecting to hear from the good doctor. She blinked, staring at the floor, her mouth open in disbelief. The look on her face reminded Beckett of someone who had been punched in the gut, and he felt sorry for her. Weir's reaction was similar, though more confused than anything, looking first to Beckett then to Lizzy then back to the doctor.

In unison both women said,

"I'm what?"

"She's what?"

Beckett sighed. "There is no mistaking the results." He handed her a sheet from the folder, "Your HCG levels clearly indicate a pregnancy."

Lizzy shook her head, clearly confused as she took the paper to look at. "But, that doesn't add up. I haven't been with anyone since I came to Atlantis." She handed the sheet back. "Over a year ago."

Now it was Beckett's turn to look confused, "Are ye sure?"

Lizzy looked him in the eye and nodded, "Positive."

"Is there any chance the results could be wrong?" Weir inquired.

"I doubt it, I can run them again if ye would like."

"No, No, that won't be necessary, I trust you. Do you think it could be related to the lab?"

"Possibly, at this point nothing else adds up. It may be the answer."

Weir nodded, "Then I'll send John and the rest of the team to check it out, hopefully we can find some answers to this puzzle." She smiled at both of them, and patted Lizzy on the knee before leaving the room.

Lizzy had meanwhile grown quiet. Her eyes affixed on the floor with an unseeing gaze. She shook her head, "Am I really going to have a baby?" She asked herself quietly.

Beckett heard her and turned, "Aye, lass, that ye are."

"I... I'm speechless. It doesn't make sense." She looked up at him with a helpless look on her face, the unsettling feeling she had gotten from her dreams had returned.

Beckett stepped closer and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I know it doesn't, I can't make heads nor tails of it either. But, if ye need anything, anything at all, just let me know, alright?"

She nodded, wearily. Her voice almost a whisper, she spoke, "I don't want a baby right now."

- - - - -

After leaving the infirmary Weir touched her radio. "Colonel Sheppard and Dr. McKay, could you please report to my office stat."

"Yes Ma'am," her radio crackled back.

Upon reaching her office she found both men waiting for her. She acknowledged them as she went around to seat herself behind the desk, "Thank you for coming so quickly. We've got a little problem I need you to do some digging into."

"What kind of problem?" Sheppard asked.

"Well, Dr. Dunham, who as you know was rendered unconscious by an alien device a few weeks ago, is now pregnant, mysteriously. According to her, she has not been with anyone since she came to Atlantis."

A look of confusion passed over both faces.

"But, you can't exactly become pregnant without having..." McKay's thought trailed off.

"Yeah, that's not exactly possible." Sheppard said.

"I know," Weir leaned forward. "As strange as it may sound Dr. Beckett thinks it may have something to do with the device in that lab she visited. That is why I want you both to go back to M4R-459 and find out what the heck that thing is."

- - - - -

Ronon and Teyla had decided to tag along, curious about this so called lab. Curious as well about the possibility of another advanced race in the Pegasus Galaxy. Together all four waded through the tall grass, making their way up the valley, following the same route along the river that SGA-8 had taken.

Just like Major Hughes and his team before them they had been awestruck at the imposing scenery the moment they stepped through the gate. However, thanks to the prodding of McKay, who was eager to reach the lab, they managed up make it up into the vale quicker than their predecessors.

Once inside McKay instantly went to work, lighting up panels and turning on displays. He plugged in his tablet and busily got to work.

Meanwhile the rest of the team wandered around, gazing at this and that, staying well away from "Lizzy's platform" as Sheppard so eloquently put it.

A half hour later Rodney exclaimed "Ah! Got it!"

"Got what?" Ronon called from the other side of the room as he absently watched a display.

"I finally got the tablet to interface with the systems. It's the same problem we where having back on Atlantis with trying to understand the language. It's Ancient design but modified, so the computer was trying to talk with the system like a Lantean computer, but it wasn't working. I just had to rewrite a few command codes based on what we have already learned of the Language aaaand viola! There we go!" He looked up with a smug grin on his face. "Now I can get to work!"

"All this time and you haven't gotten anything done?" Sheppard sounded a tad annoyed.

McKay waved him off, intent upon his tablet "I'm getting to the good stuff now."

Sheppard shrugged to Ronon and Teyla, the threesome wandered back outside to await McKay's prognosis. It wasn't long before he dashed outside, calling them to come see what he had found. Back inside he picked up his tablet, scrolling through pages of text he began explaining.

"Now, from what we had translated back on Atlantis from the bits of language that had been recorded both Dr. Dunham and I had wondered if this was some sort of genetics lab, but we couldn't say for sure from the limited information we had. Turns out we were right." He gestured around the room, "Apparently this is some sort of secret outpost, and whoever built it was highly skilled with manipulating DNA." He punched a few buttons on his tablet, "It looks like they were trying to create some sort of super human clone."

"You mean like that thing back on Atlantis that made people ascend?" Sheppard questioned.

"No, this is different. It's a new clone, it's not a real human being, or a modified one for that matter. They were taking different pieces of DNA and altering their makeup and then merging it together to create a new being that had super strength, was super intelligent, and probably had, well... to put it this say, super powers."

"A superhero?" Sheppard was thoroughly confused.

"What are super powers?" Teyla asked, obviously in the same boat.

"You can fly, shoot lasers out of your eyes, levitate people, that sort of thing."

"Like when you nearly ascended?" A flicker of understanding glimmered in Teyla's face.

"Yeah, pretty much." McKay mused as he went back to working on his tablet.

"But," Sheppard leaned forward. "How does that explain how Dr. Dunham got pregnant?"

McKay looked up, obviously he had forgotten about that, "Oh, well, it doesn't."

Sheppard pointed to the platform, "I'd start with that."

"Fine." He went back to his tablet, pressed a key, then paused as he read what was on the screen. "Wait a second, look a this."

"What?"

"If I'm reading this correctly then it seems like whoever these people are, they had the ability to create artificial intelligence, androids."

"You mean like Spock?" Sheppard questioned, then quickly added, "are we talking replicators here?"

"No, I doubt that. From the way this text talks it sounds like these are real living breathing humans who made this place."

Then from across the room Teyla called out, "Dr. McKay, I think you better look at this."

McKay and Sheppard moved to where she was. She was standing in a dark corner of the room. Before her was a doorway, through which lay a small room, no bigger than a closet, and at the far end was a stasis chamber. Within was a man, sleeping in hibernation. He was clothed all in black and gray, a style similar to that of the ancient wardrobe. His hair was cropped short and his facial features where strong and prominent. He wall tall and well built with an obviously muscular body, evident even under the heavy clothing.

"Who is it?" Ronon asked, breaking the silence.

"I don't know." McKay punched a few more buttons on his tablet, bringing up a new screen, "But if was a gambling man, I'd say this is one of their androids." He looked at Sheppard, "your Spock."

- - - - -

Dr. Beckett had sent her back to her room with a few sleeping pills along with orders to get some much needed sleep. What a day it had been. Lizzy eyed the shower, but her mind couldn't seem to make her body do anything at the moment. Instead she simply sat at the foot of her bed, mentally exhausted. _I'm pregnant? That just can't be true_. She wasn't sure what to do now, she wasn't even sure what to think for that matter.

As she sat there, her mind wandering, she was suddenly come over by an overwhelming urge to sleep. _Odd_, she thought, _I never even took a pill_. It was her last conscious thought before her head hit the pillow.

A moment later she was wide awake, snapped out of her sleep as if by a jolt of electricity. Frantic, she bolted from her room, running down the halls like the devil himself was breathing down her neck.

Breathless she dashed into Weir's office. Struggling to catch her breath she panted out. "The team... on M4R-459... they're in... danger!"


End file.
